White Christmas!

Well This week was very busy. It was the last week ofthe transfer and wethought for sure Judd was going, but turns out he is staying. I havetalkedtohim about it(sorry the space bar is sticking). I am happy that he is staying because we get along great, theonly bad thing is i just thought id move on from my trainer. I thought id have another missionary come in and have to start taking the lead but after thinking about it, i can still do that. I am excited and i know it is for a reason. We have a goal to baptize 8 people and we will try our best.

Well mon-thursday we got in late every single night....Mon eating with branch president, Tuesday- Stuck out in a far out area and had to wait for the bus, Wednesday sharing a christmas messagewith a couple families all together (and i made brownies for them), and thursday- we had a ward meeting that started at 9..

Let me tell you about tuesday first... Very interesting night.After a choir practice we had for a wardparty we went out to oine of our far out areas. We got stopped by an oldinvestigators daughter who said hermom missed us and wanted us tocome over and say a prayer. Turns out many plans failed and we went over. Theytoldusto come in and sit down in the corner then a bunch of women and there little daughters came in and the daughter of our investigator started to teach them an arabian dance class... Judd and i stared at eachother or the floor or ceiling for 5 minutesthen triedto maske our way out the door. We got outandsomeone followed us out and asked us about what we do. Turns out she had a lot of interest. Not in the Church... We got invited over forfriday to eatpizza and watch a movie. And this was right after they told us they were comng back to the states with us to marry us... Just to let you know, we decided not go. We thought wewould try and avoid thatkindof trouble.

Thursday i had one lesson with Judd at 10 then Neal and i had togo 2 hours toAdrogue for a mneeting for all new missionaries to see how training went. It lasteduntil 6 then 2 and halfhours back. It was really good and i got 2 packages!!

Saturday, us 4 missionaries had 3 baptisms (one wasours) at 6, at 7 was aprimary presentation we sang in. at 8 was a end of the year dinner. That night we found out elder Hurtado wasleaving andalotof members started crying. We hadbeenhere for 7 months. Oh, and the baptism, since the other 3 were baptizing, I had to direct the meeting...I triedmy best. The best part was after the actually the actually baptisms and i was waiting for them to change and come back i thought it would be a good idea to sing christmas songs. Well, lets just say i had a reaaaalllllgood solo to angels we have heard on high... I was sweating like crazy. Sunday i confirmed our Daniela in church, once again i was nervous. Sunday night the other 2 elders and 2 little member kids to baptize and we helped with that.

The week got a little messed up but it allworked out. At times i thought i was thrown in the refiners fire and cameout like the nastiness that comesout whatever its called. We have made achristmas messageand shared it with many people and also watch Joy to The World with alot of people. I am excited for the season. I was a little trunky at first thinking about back home and about cool weather... but the thingis, i could be at home with all ofyall andcelebrating this season, ori could be here sharing this with 100´s of people. Right now thisis the placeforme to be, whether they understand me or not.

I want to wish everyone a merry christmas. But, i also want everyone to remember the first christmas present we all received, the birth of Christ. It has changed absolutleyeverything for our lives and eternity. My challenge issince that was our first gift we recieved, make the firstgiftyou give to christ. Think about what he wants from each and every one of us and give that to him.

Love,
Elder Martino

Mom- Thank you so much for the packages. I got the other 2 this week and they are great. I apolgize but i cheated with the presents :). next time you get an urgetosend one, maybe if you could find some cheap ties :) Sounds like an exciting week yall had and are about to have an even better one. Merry Christmas mom! I loveyou!

dad- Impretty sure you should just talk to president Monson and see if you can start your own byu in texas.Everything else Byu ismoving down. It definately sounds like your busy. Merry Christmas dad! iloveyou!

Everyone is is getting seperate emails.

Time is Flying

Well another week. This week flew by but has been pretty good. But one question. Who in the world is the new president? Wasn´t voting in november.

Tuesday...Im not going to lie, i was very nervous. We had exchanges and I went out with a kid who is just as new as me and speaks and understands much less.(not being rude or prideful, i still dont understand much and talk even less). We went out to one of my areas that is about 5 miles away and is this governemnt housing complex. We get out there and its super hot. We are both dying and everyone is failing us. We decided to go say a prayer and ask for help. Well we got in houses but not really the ones i wanted... First was Erika and she is a great investigator and we taught her and her 2 daughters. It was an interesting lesson because she has been taught everything and i kind of bounced around the place but both of us and her thought it went very well. She ended up telling us on thursday that she had recieved her answer, now it is just a matter of changing. Then we taught Zulma, an old investigator that ended up yelling at me and was so mad she cried, well we were walking by her house and her marido called us over and asked us to come in. Well we went in and he sat us down and started talking church with us. She sat across from me and i felt as if i was being looked at with a magnfying glass. We he asked us to share a message and i did. I asked her to read and she said no. She looked very upset the entire time. Well we left then as we were walking to teach an innactive member these pibes that always stop us stopped ua and we decided we would actually talk to them. Hey, we are looking for more young men in the branch so it was worth a try. I gave them folletos and talked for a minute and told them if they read it and have questions then i will stp by another day a buy a coke and sit a talk with them. We walked back that night and got some contacts. Pretty succesful day i would say. At least now i know i can make my way around for the most part when i dont have anyone to rely on.

Yesterday was dissappointing at church. We had 8 baptismal dates at the beggining of church and by the end we had 2... Happy news is those 2 are this next saturday and sunday. This is the last week in this transfer. My trainer is most likely leaving and i will be here for a while proboblamente. It sucks a little because i will have to spend chrsitmas with a new kid when we are stuck inside. There are going to be a lot of borachos in the street and we wont be allowed out though.

I heard there was a big wind storm that hit Utah and someone mentioned something about a big storm in Texas but who knows.

We worked hard this week. We have been trying to make our numbers better but its hard. I understand the numbers are something to measure us by but the numbers miss alot of things we do. Service, fix problems, talking in the street, and much more. But we worked really hard this week and we are trying to get better everyday.

Love Elder Martino

December 5

This was an interesting week for sure. It has cooled down a little and nights its perfect now. Well let me tell you a little about this week.

Starting Tuesday we had no water. All of the water was shut down. It came back on Saturday. Well we did shower once in between there before Elder Aidukaitis came to us. I cant tell you how though. It wasnt illegal or bad but i cant say. All i can say is we found a way to shower. Thursday we woke up at 5 to shower and get to the meeting with Elder Aidukaitis on time. We made it, but we were exausted. It was a really good meeting and he definately dropped the cane on us. Pretty much we should be having a baptism every week he said and if not then we dont have enough faith. lol. We are trying to get better now and correct things everyday.

Friday we woke up at 5 again because Judd had to be in capital by 8. I met up with a kid in my district in the mtc and stayed with him while our companions left. Turns out he was sick and i was stuck from 7am til 3 studying. Needless to say i did take a nap but i also got plenty of studying in.

Here is the interesting story of the week. A new investigator we found named Anna. Age 68. She is very interested but thought i was too. You have to understand i still dont understand everything and so i have to listen really hard and pay close attention. So we are in a lesson with her and we invite her to be baptized. She looks alright at first, a little hesitant but thinking about it. Out of no where she looks at me, ¨YOU DONT WANT ME TO BE BAPTIZED. YOU DONT WANT ME IN THE CHURCH. OHHH, YOU WANT TOO MUCH OF ME. I SEE THE WAY YOU ARE STARING INTO MY SOUL. YOU WANT TO GET TO KNOW ME BETTER!!¨ Needless to say i was in shock. i wanted to say, ¨alright woman, look here. I dont speak this language. Im looking at you so i can stay in the conversation and understand what you are saying. If i didnt want you in the church i wouldnt ask you.¨I ended up just being nice and saying no. As we left the lesson she kissed my hand goodbye. Lets just say it was weird, but hey she did come to church.

Yesterday we went to a birthday party. They cooked an Asado and we brought the chicken. One of the older daughters had been to utah before and brought us cans of rootbeer! That is unknown here and most people think it tastes nasty. She also brought out a baseball and bat. Curtis, you would be proud of me. I taught them all how to throw hit and play. Then i hit it and it went about 3 houses over...Probobly should be a little more careful. The food was great though.

We have 2 baptisms this Sunday which is exciting and we have about 5 for the Christmas Eve planned so far. We are excited and working hard. This week i got a package mom. Thank you! I got a letter from Grandma and Grandpa! All in all it was a rough but good week.

Also for anybody who wants. Mike and Kristi maybe, but im wondering if anybody would send me church things in spanish. Dhildrens hymns on cd in spanidh. Books, Whatever anybody can. Thank you!

Mom- thank you for the package. I am waiting for the others.

dad- Sounds like a busy week. Ill try to figure out about calling in.

samye and D- I got your letter too! Thank you for the pictures. Everytime people look at the pictures they ask about miles and whats on his face or who is that really tall bald guy!

Love, Elder Martino

Getting Hot! Thanksgiving

Its been an interesting but slow week this week. Let me tell you it is getting hot here. Its about 33celsius every day and very very humid. I am loving it though.

Lets see...Tuesday and wednesday were slow. It was hot and slow. Not many people were home at any of there houses, although we did have a good lesson with Erika and her daughters. Turns out the daughters sit and listen now and sometimes participate. When we first went there they did not like us at all. They didnt want a thing to do with us, but now they like us!! It was a good lesson though and now we are just waiting for them to get married. hopefully soon.

Now i know i said those days were slow, but they dont compare to thursday. Thursday morning we biked around trying to find a place to pay our gas bill that was late. No one would accept it. So we went back ate lunch then headed out for the day. Plus for the day it was super hot, no one was home, everything failed and numbers for the day were flat 0...We had a good day of being persecuted for a Savior we love so much. Not even close to paying him back and it sucked.

Friday morning we had to go to Quilmes to pay the bill. Hour and half bus ride. It was a nice little vacation though. We got to see some more big city which was nice. Oh and the bill cost 2 centados more... thats half a penny....and it was very late... We got back and hurried to a lunch we had then hurried over to El Pato(third area in our section) and taught Erika and once again everything else failed.. Cool thing is, from our pench to the bus stop in takes 30 mins to get there then 10 mins on the bus to El Pato. On the way over the husband (non member) of an innactive woman picked us up and drove us all the waay to the area! Once we had seen evrybody we could we decided to walk back and do some contacting. We talked to alot but no promising. Oh and to finish it off we stopped and got ice cream. My comp got a flovor called sambayon. We kept telling me it tasted like cookie dough but then we remebered someone told us it had alcohol. Turns out it did and we threw the rest away. lol

Saturday was a day of service. We shoveled sand outside a yard and wheel barrowed it in for one family before lunch. After lunch we did almost the same thing.. Except we had to wheel barrow each one for 3 blocks (about 1/6 of a mile) to the ladys house and do that over and over and over. it was actually pretty fun although the elder i was working with kept stopping because ¨his hands were sweaty...¨ha it was much better with my comp. After the services we went and taught a lesson then came in for the night.

Sunday we had 130 at the beggining of sacrament! We dont know what was going on but at the end we had 70... It was good though. Then we had a birthday party then two lessons.

I have been trying to send letters off but i can only do it on mondays and last monday we were in capitol and didnt have time and today is a holiday here and everything is closed. So everyone i promise im writing back. To most of you :)

Grandma this is for you. We have a great bread shop right across from our apartment and every morning i go over anf get some fresh bread and eat bread.yogurt, and milk mixed together every morning.

Sounds like yall had a good holiday and we celebrated it too sort off. mashed potatoes and a chicken. This computer wont send pictures but ill try next week!

Oh and guess what else i found out...President is going to start keeping us elders in areas for around 9 months... Im going to get to know this area very well i have a feeling...

Dad-It wasnt a too succesful week but we are going to try and do our best this next week.

Mom- Could you send me a brownie recipe without shortening..No such thing here.. It sounds like yall all had fun even if your almost all crippled.

Samye- Hope D had a blast with my bodypillow and you had enough of my shirts to last ya :) Sounds like it was a nice get away.

Nicki- Hope ya had fun

Whoo Hoo!

Well should i start with our pench almost burned down or i thought i broke my back one day? lol. Not completely serious but almost! We got a new stove last week and hooked it up. It worked just fin except for the next day when i was heating up water the hose broke and Elder Judd looked in the kitchen and the stove was shooting out flames out the back! The knos melted off and we need a new hose but thats about it i think :). The back was just that apparently the time i get on the pull up bar to work out the door frame decides to break and i land with the middle of my back on a 2 inch ledge. Just a big bruise and sore but all good :) Sometimes i wonder if Tannon is getting sick of having to watch out for me!

Well today we had to go to capital so Elder Judd could do some work for his visa papers. Took a couple pictures and we went to McDonalds!! Super Expensive though. It was a nice little sight seeing tour and ive gotten to the point i can mostly talk to people on my own.(I dont understand everything, but i just nod my head and smile and it works). I talked to people on the subways and trains and buses and got quiet a few contacts but none live in my area.

This week wasnt our best week as far as the numbers go, but we tried. All of our baptismal dates fell through, although the couple that fell through becasue they need to get married have decided they are going to get married and get it all done!! We have had some really good lessons and found new investigators which will help us alot in our work. Thursday we spent the day with a new member family doing a service project. Lee, if youd like i can come back and do some Argenntine style construction for you if youd like :). I learned how to do alll that and we had a really good discussion about faith and the scriptures. They seem like they are doing well except for the coming to church part...They along with many other members just dont see the importance of coming to church.

Good news is we maintained 120 at church this week. We had the stake presidency there, received a new branch president, and the primay program. One thing that doesnt change around the world is the primary program. Its just as funny all around the world. The kids are amazing and crazy but you can still feel a calmness and peace. Our investigator came with her 2 daughters and the daughters actually participated in the program and seemed to enjoy it. Quick little side note. A couple weeks ago we had testimony meeting. There was a member in our branch who got up and talked about the ¨end of the world¨ next year...It was a little embarrassing but he funny thing is there are alot of people here who believe it. Who knows it could be it for all i know but it shouldnt make a difference if its tommorow, next December, or 50 years from now. All i know is being here next december is going to be crazy and very interesting.

Oh, and this week Elder Aiducatis (sp) comes. The 70 over our area. Supposably last time we was here he made elders cry. We are doing our best to stay in tip-top shape to be ready for him.

Little interesting story i keep forgetting to write and tell you. Turns out one of my zone leaders was supposed to be my comp in the MTC the first time. Kind of crazy. He leaves next transfer and i still get to spend more time here. It gets hard here and super frustrating at times. I want to lay down in the AC and watch a movie on a comfy couch, but i know right now isnt the time for that. Right now is my time to change who i am and change those around me. I have something i have had my whole life but never realized how special it is untill here. Something i can give to other people to change there lives and make the time here on earth a wonderful time.

dad- I am a little trunky about thanksgiving coming up and the food and family time and what not but i think i can give 2 years of it up. There will be plenty of food and family there when i get back. Like always yall sound busy and sound like life is great!

mom- I still havent gotten the package but maybe soon. My singulair is doing fine. Tell grandma and grandpa and jean and russell hi for me. Thank you for getting a little gift for alex for me and just remember, one of those banana cream pies is for me!!! Have fun cooking!

Samye- Thank you for the letter and pictures! Im trying to put them on my camera and what not.

Nicki- Keep pushing through school and enjoying every minute of it!

Alex- I have recieved 4 letters. My problem is writing back but im trying! Keep emailing too! its easier!

Worm or Snake?

Wow crazy week. Let me just tell you a little about it.
Well early this week the missionaries in the pinch next to us found this cool looking worm and brought it back to the pinch. Well i picked it up, and it bit me. Turns out it wasn't a worm but a baby snake. lol. Also turns out it is super poisonous. Good thing is it didnt leave any marks and nothing happened. Close call on that one. Then Saturday night we were walking to a cita and we heard some yelps down to the right. We looked down the cross street and saw three little puppies with there eyes barely open someone had dumped in the middle of the road. Well we left them outside during the cita then took them back to the pinch. We know we aren't allowed to have pets but we couldn't leave them in the middle of the road. We bathed them (trying to get all the fleas off them), gave them some milk, then our only choice was to take them back outside... We both felt really bad but it seemed like the best choice. We took them to a spot where people walk by and could get them if they want but away from the cars so they wouldn't get run over. At least we tried to give them a chance. Oh, and i felt like it was Curtis and I back in the old days again.
Last P-day we played soccer and football all day. I think it was a bad idea though because all of us have been exhausted all week. We are deciding to take today slow, clean the pinch, and relax. I also bought some jerseys which im pretty sure are super awesome even though super duper fake.
We ran into a guy and his family this week. Maxi his a super nice guy along with his wife and daughter. They made us 4 pizzas and sent us home with all sorts of food(and peanut butter)! He practically grew up in the church but left with his entire family when he was young and got offended by the bishop. We said we would come one sunday and see how it is. They are an amazing family and super nice.
Next we have our investigator Erika who came to church yesterday and seemed to like it alot. She made some good friends. We watched the movie Together Forever with her the other day and she brought a friend to listen to us to. Erika started crying during the movie and it was one of the best lessons i have had yet! Her date with her daughter is the 26 of this month to get baptized.
Now for the miracle of the week. My first while in the area. an average of 50 people came to church. 3 weeks ago my goal was 75 at church. We achieved it. last week it was 100. We achieved it. Yesterday we had over 120 people at church. My goal is to keep getting up but itll start getting alot harder. People said that doesnt happen here but turns out it can. Now we just need to keep finding alot more investigators. Our list is running low. We got kicked out of a couple houses recently.
This week was a super hard week. Its definitely warming up here. My motivation was lacking and i was completely exhausted but its amazing the help you can receive if you just ask. It didnt make it easy by any means but it helped.
I hope everything is going well. Love you all and would love to hear from everybody. Now this is for anybody and everybody. Send me pictures! All the people are giving me a hard time because i have like 2 pictures of my family and friends. So send me pictures!! Thanks!

Summer is Coming!

The weather is kicking my butt. So our area is one of the bigger ones in the mission and we dont have bikes or anything and the other day we decided it was about time to go out a check out some of the campo and people that live out there. After many of our lessons failed we decided to go check it out. Well it was hot. A farely nice breeze but still very hot. We met a nice lady and talked to her for a bit. Then we realized we had our baptism in an hour... We started busting our butts back to the pench to change and go check on the font. Well the second we got back to the pench this amazing cold front came in that felt AMAZING. It would have been nice if it was sooner though. And we realized one problem, we have to go back out and see that lady now...

Well we had a great baptism. The family is members but very innactive and the father is not a member. We taught the girl and she asked my comp to baptize her. The whole family came to the baptism and we even had another innactive family whos children we have been teaching. Afterwards two girls came up to us and asked us to baptize them. Sweet!!

Besides that not a whole lot has happened. We are staying busy and trying to stay healthy. Both of my black eyes are going away slowly. the gashes on my nose are good but i can still move my nose and feel the crack :)

Oh and i got mail today! Alex, put your name on the letters! at first i didnt know who it was. lol. I got 2 from you, 1 from Vanessa, Shydi, and Dallen. It was a good pick me up today to hear from yall.

Today we have been playing soccer and badketball all day and we are pretty sun burnt. Oh, i got a sweet jersey at the feria (flea market). I dont have my camera on me but next week ill send more pictures.

Mom-Can i ask for one more thing in a package? Garlic and Parsely pills. Supposably they help alot with mosquitos. Sounds like everything is good back home and your having mixed feelings about Alex getting all old and what not. That just means you get to sit at home and eat bon bons now!! WOOOO!!!!

Dad- Also sounds like your staying busy as well. we saw the president 2 days before this happened so i dont know if he knows. My nose looks straight and feels fine. I tried to push it back in place the best i could and i think i did it right :)

Samye and D- Sounds like the kids had fun! i pray every night for yall.

Nicki-seperate

Alex- I got 2 letters today. Would you prefer if i wrote you back a letter or just emailed you back when i get your letters? Be safe driving and being all grown up and what not.

Broken Noses & Baptisms

Well it's definately been an interesting week. Last Saturday we baptized the 4 kids and it went great although i had to baptize one of the little girls 6 times...I cant shove her under water. She freaked out everytime time but at the same time the water was absolutely freezing. The water heater didnt work, go figure. It all turned out great though and they were very excited. This Saturday we have a baptism and we have others planned in the following weeks.

Now let me fill you in on Sunday night. On Sunday nights we have a set meeting with a family. All the kids are baptized and the parents want to, they are just saving up to take a trip to Paraguay so he can get divorced from his old wife first. There is a lot of stress when we go over there. The family is great, just working on patience and holding anger in. Well after the lesson, Elder Judd and i were messing around playing ´´futbol americano´´. He pushes me and starts running. I catch him and run past as he stops. He then tries to swim move over me but in the meantime forgets i am 6 ft tall, not 5. Well his elbow made good contact thats for sure..lol. Well im bleeding everywhere walking a couple miles back to the pench and people are giving us weird looks. Turns out i broke my nose (i put in back in place so no worries on a crooked nose i hope), i have 2 black eyes, and 2 gashes across my nose. It looks real good when we are contacting! Its all healing quick and i feel great.

Just to make it all a little better, Monday for lunch we made milanesa. The person who cooked it used way too much oil we decided. Ill just say i spent all Monday night and morning in the bathroom... My stomach is slowly building up to eating so much fried food.

Last Friday we had interviews with President Stapley and that took about all day with him and our APs and ZLs. The meetings went really well and i got mail for the first time! Woop!!! Please tell Mike and Kristi I very much appreciate them writing me! Also that they are allowed to email me and ill do my best to have time to reply.

We came across someguy who stopped us on the street. Kind of awesome but he speaks english pretty well and wants us to stop by sometime and teach him in english. It surprised me at first, but people are always pulling us over to talk to us and ask us questions. Half the time its if we speak german.

Im going to go back a bit but tell you about when we interviewed the 4 kids for their baptism. I went on exchanges with our ZL and he came here to do the interviews with me. So first we speak to them all and i introduce them to him and explain what is going to happen. Then i go in the next room with Clotilde and the 6 kids. One at a time they go in the other room and interview. What am i supposed to do in the room? I had no idea, but the kids wanted me to sing hymns...I spent about 30 minutes singing hymns for them. I pretty sure i made a couple up but hey, they think i sound great. When people think i sound like frank sinatra, why not sing how i want :)

Dad- Once again everything sounds well and your staying busy.

Mom- thank you for the update. I have a couple things to tell you. First, i have almost learned to play a hymn!! Second, we are singing in church this sunday. Umm, as far as a package, whatever sounds good. Maybe some american floss and toothbrush :) also recipes please. Mainly recipes i can easily cook but i really need a brownie recipe. everybody keeps asking me if i know how to make brownies. Besides that, im feeling better for the most part and everything is great.

Samye and D- I hope everything is going well!

Nicki- seperate

Alex- Im excited soon i might start getting letters from you! Happy birthday! Take care of the red truck and be good! Time goes by fast and dont let it pass you by.

Love you all!

Elder Martino

P.s. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!!

Another beautiful week!

Dear family,

Well its been a good week. There isn't much to fill you in on about what we have been doing. We had a good week of lessons and baptismal dates but we will see how it goes. Its starting to get hot and I'm super excited...The streets smell good enough as it is when its cool.. Umm I'll tell you a little about our people we are working with.

First we have Clotilde and her 6 nietos. Martin 5, Nicolas 6, Agustina 8, Gabriela 9, Isaias 11, and Mikaela 12. There parents dies\d when the youngest was a baby and now she takes care of them. The 5 oldest are all mentally handicapped but we don't exactly know to what extent. We also just found out the other day that the kids have AIDS. Its really sad, but the happy thing is we are baptizing the 4 oldest this Saturday. They all know who Jesus is and want to be baptize and as far as we know and what our branch president and zone leaders have said that is all they need. The family is amazing. It doesn't matter if you are mad or not having a good day, we cant leave that house upset. all the kids have a special spirit about them and it is a big blessing.

Next, i think i told you about Benito. He had another stroke the other week and couldn't talk, smile, laugh, and barely walk. But he is a trooper. He bought new shoes, a new white shirt, and a tie. He is walking everyday. A couple miles...He came to church the other day and can now laugh and smile and get a couple words out. He is our other lift me up that we have. You cant help when you are around him to want to keep working hard and doing your best.

We are teaching a couple members kids and it is great. We have one lady who is very interested but wont take a baptismal date until she knows for sure its right. She has prayed and has felt the spirit but doesn't recognize it. But I hope she is ready for tomorrow!! She will know then!

Oh and my birthday was great. I had a great lunch made for me and two great cakes! i might have gained a couple pounds though,,,Tell Eric i love him and I'm proud of him. Also, ill try to stay in shape too but we aren't aloud to go outside in the mornings. But i have my good ol jump rope.

Umm last pday we played soccer with 2 investigators at the church. One we have dropped. We were his "buds" but he wasn't changing at all and it had been a couple weeks.

Chuch was interesting yesterday. it was voting and not even a member of the bishopric was there til sacrament which is at the end. And the Stake president showed up... Good thing is he taught our class for us and spoke in sacrament instead of us. We have realized our branch needs alot of help and that is our goal right now. They say, "Every member a missionary," but if we have no one coming then we don't have any help and why would our converts want to stay..But we will get it up.

Everything is good. Sickness comes and goes but that's how it will be and I'm OK with it. When did throwing up a couple times hurt anyone. Ive been out here a month and its crazy. i love the people here and I'm trying hard to show it. I'm trying my best to keep my chin up no matter what happens. I want y'all to know that i haven't always been the best or let alone tried. But, i know i am where i am supposed t be. I'm trying my best right now to serve my lord and serve the people here with all i have. One day, hopefully far far in the future i will be able to get on the plane to come home and i can be proud of the last 2 years. I can be proud of the effort I've put into it. Even though it isn't much, i want the lord one day to tell me i was a faithful servant. I want the same for everyone of you. I don't care where you are in life, you can be a good and faithful servant.

Dad) The scouting here is non existent. The young men's leader is trying to bring it in to maybe help more young men here.

Mom) Everything sounds well for ya ll. keep working hard.

Alex) I'm mad at you. your supposed to be the perfect kid..why aren't you writing your crazy older brother a\who needs words of encouragement from his little sis.

Samye)I'm writing a separate

Nicki) tambien

p.s. I know I've been here a while but i broke my ipod... oops. maybe if on day you wanted to send me a usb drive with church music efy music, talks. that would be wonderful. oh and one of those grip hand strengthener things. gracias!!!

Another week!

Seems like its been a day or 2 since i wrote to yall. Time definately flies and it kind of sucks. Anyways everything is going good.

Well last monday night I had my first experience with good ol food here on the street not settling too well with you. We went out but to say the least we hurried back to the pench as soon as posible and were there for the rest of the night.

Tuesday we had district meeting in the morning then in the afternoon we went out and taught some lesons and contacted. One lady we have been teaching is super nice and love her to death. She wont let us have a lesson but we always find ways to work it in there somehow. There is a light in her both elder judd and i see but we have to get there. We then walked about 6 miles back to the pench, bought ice cream, and sat on the roof and talked.

Wednesday was a crap of a hard day. We contacted in the morning...nothing. Had lunch with recent converts and had a lesson which was good. when we left it was pouring rain. we contacted and went around to appointments but no one let us in because we were soaked and muddy to our knees. Finally we stopped at a members house to get warm and relax for a second til we went to a meeting witht he ward mission leader. These are the fun days :)

Thursday we went out to an area that is very nice, very spread out and way out there. We found a couple people to teach and even a couple innactive members. It was great to get out in the country for a minute. It turns out the man i told you about who had a stroke had anohter one this week and isnt doing so well. We gave him a blessing and we go see him often. He cant speak at all now but we just stop by and try to encourage him, give him a hug and beso, and tell him we will seee him soon.

Anyways going day by day is boring. The elders we live next to had a baptism that we went to. we have 8 that will soon be there hopefully. We had the grandma who has 6 kids come to church with us. The always lift up your day. 5 of the kids have special needs but are absolutley amazing.

BAsically all is going well. Havnt gotten sick again yet. Its getting warmer each day. The dogs are super nasty. We are working are butts off and trying to influence and uplift as many people as we can. Besides that everything is great! Oh, and side note, for some reason lots of people think i look like mr smith from matrix or sometimes i get this other guy but idk who he is.

Im getting better witht the language but still working on it. The work here is amazing. It really isnt bad walking in the rain anmd mud as long as we think about the blessings we have. The members here are amazing. The people here are generally reallly nice. I have been given 2 years to work my butt off so i can save someone elses. I caught myself this week wanting t take a quick nap after language study (or during sometimes) but im going to have plenty of time to nap in the future. Ive only got 2 years to work my butt off, prove i can be successful at something, and help people without focusing on myself.

I hope all is well back in the states. (btw first thing i do when i get home is lay on the carpet).

Dad-Yall have been busy with byui stuff it seems. glad to hear its progressing.I had a member ask me about scouts. i didnt know if you could get your hands on any scout stuff in spanish and send it my way. thank you.

Mom- you do sound like a retired couple now. All these dinners and activities. Im guessing you already sent the package but maybe in the next one you could send a light weight black raincoat that is cheap but nice :)

Samye, D, and kids- Hope everyhting is well. I think about yall every day and hope everything is smooth.

Nicki-youll see

Alex- Keep working hard in school and everyhting else

Love yall, Elder Martino

Here in El Parque

Well its gone by super quick. kind of scary. First off, I'm getting better. The last couple days its rained and just been muddy and muggy and all of the above. It hasn't helped getting better when your soaking wet and cold. Oh and the umbrella broke in 5 minutes...Here is a couple things about my area. We walk every where. We would get bikes but they would get stolen very quick. Most the people are very nice and rarely do things happen to us. We have to watch out for cars because some people like to get those mormones when they are driving. Umm, there is an unreasonable amount of dogs. Most the dogs i could kick away but there are alot of people who like rottweilers and they don't like us. :)

Food. I'm kind of sick of the fried food. It is super good but that is all we eat. the vegetables and fruit are super expensive. We eat Milanese, guiso, pizza,empanadas, and asadas. I had my first big asada on Saturday night and it was ALOT of food. Churipan, bloodsausage, and alot more meat. oh and we do eat a bit of rice. The food is amazing just not a big variety. The bread is very good here and the facturas are great in the mornings. Oh, and we live down the street from an ice cream shop and a kid that works there we are talking with and working on him. Needless to say we have ice cream pretty often. People like to give the missionaries a warm glass of milk and cookies or juice.

The area is good. mud streets for the most part. Lots of babies and nice people. We have had quiet a few lessons but alot of people wont progress and its hard to figure out if its us or them. We do alot of tracting. Its fun using different random approaches and we come across interesting situations.

Elder Judd from Utah is my trainer and we live in a pench next to 2 other elders. Elder Judd and i get along great and have a fun time while we are working. He will leave next august.

Lets see, elections are in November and the streets are covered with posters and people driving down with speakers talking about the elections.

We have quiet a few investigators. They are awesome people. Yesterday at church we did sacrament, bore my testimony, almost taught primary, helped teach sunday school. There is alot of responsibility when not many people come. We were supposed to have 6 investigators at church. 1 showed up. After church we went and ate at a members house and then went contacting til a lesson later that night.

I got to give 3 blessings this week. super hard and I'm glad they knew my intentions but it was a really good experience. It was a rough week but we are staying happy and working our best.

Oh our pench is right down the street from our chapel. You cant mail things straight to me. Everything has to go through the mission home to get to me. Oh and we ended up not singing in church but we sing everyday so its ok. Umm as far as a package goes, whatever is good with me. Umm oh and anybody should feel free to email me. Its a whole lot quicker and its ok to do.

A couple times since last sunday people have asked me if i knew James Martino. They said that we looked alike. Ill take that as a compliment.

Mom. Hope everything is good. Sounds like ya ll are staying busy. Tell everyone i say hi!!

Dad. I heard you were pretty sore from some gardening..Maybe just maybe yall should get some cheap help..Hope everything is going well.

Samye and D. Samye there is a Lady in my ward who is due a week after you so she told me she would need our help. Not sure what that means but thought id tell ya. Hope all the kids are well and yall are doing great.

Nicki. Sounds like you've been visiting home and that you look really happy. Keep it up and don't let guys get you down. They are dumb anyways and everything will happen in its own time.

Alex. Keep doing well in school and making good friendships. Hope to hear from ya soon.

Love you all.

How to Write to Elder Martino

If you want to write to Elder Martino:

Pouch mail: Write on only one side of an 8x10 piece of paper. Tri-fold the paper with the writing on the inside. Secure the long side with two pieces of tape about one inch in from each end, but do not seal the ends. In the top left corner write your name and complete return address. Affix first class postage in the top right corner. In the middle write the following address:

Drew Richard Martino

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City, Ut. 84130-0150

Packages can be sent to:

Elder Drew Richard Martino

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Quintana 447

1846 Adrogue

Buenos Aires

Argentina

* Packages are rather expensive to send!!

Thanks for all you support! I know it means so much to Elder Martino

First Week Here!!!

Well I'm sick like a dog right now but doing my best.

Lets see we landed here in buenos Aries Tuesday morning. quickly tried to straighten up in the bathroom. went through customs and then met our president. Sister stapley actually knows grandma and grandpa. Her maiden name is Beck. I contacted 3 people in the airport waiting fro all the missionaries and then we left to the mission home. We stayed there for a while and then met our trainers and left. It took 1 bus and 3 trains and about 2.5 hours to get to our place. Next morning we got right to work. At first i was completely lost as to what people were saying. I don't feel like everyone said i would though. Now sometimes i can hold a conversation on my own and understand i think quiet a bit for my first week here. I will most likely be in this area for 18 weeks.

Now i know everyone will get a kick out of this. we teach an English class every Wednesday night and we have been teaching the people A Childs Prayer in English. Turns out we are singing it in sacrament next week we think... it gets better. I'm singing the first part of the song as a duet with a member here.

We got to watch all of conference on a tiny TV in English actually. except priesthood was only in castillano. i tried to understand but i kind of zoned out a little.

The people here for the most part are very nice and very welcoming. Others not so much but that is fine. In one lesson the other day, we asked the guy to be baptized and he jumped up and said yes! what day? We accidentally picked one too soon and the lesson the other day when we told him he had to marry his wife first didn't go so well..At one point i thought he was going to attack us but i love the guy. He has good intentions just doesn't understand it all the way.

Anyways I'm happy to be here and its going well besides being sick like a dog. Everyone says if you send a package, plaster it with Jesus and Mary and crosses. You can even call me saint elder Martino if you want on it. Dear elder still works to me but takes longer.

Oh and i had 2 letters waiting for me when i got here. One from Kerry Sherksnas and one from Sister Mower. I don't know if ill reply but ill try! The food here is usually pretty good but very fattening :)

Dad- I'm trying my best out here and i hope everything is well back home.

Mom- Thank you for the emails. Everything is going well.

Samye, Dustin, and family- It was nice getting to talk to all of you. Ya ll sound like your doing well and are excited for a new member of the family.

Nicki- Tell Estrella i saw her in a video yesterday. It was Christmas and they were all singing a song. Also there is an Hermana Ramirez who is serving in my mission and she knows you. She is from Rosario. Hope school and boys are treating you well.

Alex- I hope school is going well along with everything else. Stay busy and stay happy.

Love ya ll, Elder Martino

Last Week in the MTC

So first off.. I got my travel plans! We report at the travel office at 3am on Monday. My flight departs at 620 and we arrive at 10 in Dallas. Then we leave Dallas at 205 and land in New York JFK at 640. Then we leave there at 950 and fly to buenos Aries and arrive at 915 am. I haven't taken the time to figure out when those times are where, but i am planning to call the house when i land in Dallas probably around 11 or so be ready! Invite grandma and grandpa and Jean and Russell if they would all like to come over too! Ill get a calling card and call that way so it wont be for a super long time. Oh, also found out that My mission is ranked number......2 for most dangerous in the world, but can even tell you how excited I am!!!!

Now for the week! Its gone by so quick. We had another wonderful opportunity to hear from Elder Russell M. Nelson this week. Sad to say but i will probably miss another apostle next week but its been awesome to listen to three so far. Sister Nelson spoke first and said something i thought was funny but also very true. Here at the MTC we compare in to being in prison sometimes. But she reminded us, what is so bad about being in prison if the Lord is the one in charge and we are doing his work. I could very easily just walk out the front gate here if i wanted but there is no way in my right mind i would walk away from this work.(especially after almost finishing my time here and finally going to the field). She also said "obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles." I think many of you know that i will need not only blessings but miracles in Argentina. So i promise you ill be doing my absolute best to be very exact in my obedience and working my butt off. The Elder Nelson said a few things that stood out to me. HE called 4 random missionaries up to sit with him and asked them, "Tell me in your heart of hearts what you know for a fact to be true about the Book of Mormon?" That's what i will be doing for 2 years. Telling people what i KNOW to be true. He spoke on the new Ensign that came out and we were the first ones to get it.(Its amazing) Read it all!

Now we had a sister in our district leave for health reasons and it was very sad to see her go right before she was to leave but she kept a very good attitude about it all. We all know that whether she comes back out or she decides to do other things she will be great at whatever it may be. But, I have been working on a project the last 5 weeks or so. Every Tuesday after the devotional we have a district testimony meeting. Each week i have briefly written one line of what each person has said in there testimonies. Then I bought different pocket size pictures of Jesus(For the elders its the fishers of men and for the 2 sisters its a picture of a young girl sitting on Jesus's knee) and on the back i have written what they have said in their own words so that if they ever get discouraged they can look back at what they have said and realize we can always keep moving forward. Nothing that comes across us will be too much for us to handle if we are on the Lords side. Who is on the Lords side?

Its been a great time here at the MTC but i am ready to get to Argentina. My spanish is better but not great. I will get made fun of, laughed at, doors slammed, and people robbing me, but i know nothing will bring me down. I know i will bring a joy to so many peoples lives. I know that strengthening their faith in Christ will change their life and they will be able to look at everything from a whole new perspective. I know its changed me. I know that I am going here for a reason. Whether it be for me or someone else I do not know. Also, I am very lucky. Ive been a little of a struggle for people but I am very lucky to have the people in my life that I do. A family who has loved me through everything. Grandparents who will always teach me things and tell me what i can do better and help to become better. Friends who step in when i need them most. Cousins who are there to pick me up. A best friend to be a brother to me when i need one(Curtis). Many more but each and every one of you have helped me so much and im so thankful for your love, patience, caring.

Dad- Thank you for the letters. I do feel like i have grown more then i can explain, but i cant pick a certain thing. I have been working on a different attribute every week to study, build, and become better at. Sounds like yall are very busy with all the meetings and callings.

Mom- OK. HEre ya go! :) Doctrine and Covenants 62:2-3,5-6,9. You can pick out of there what you want to put on there. Ill be sending home pictures in a while. still haven't taken a whole lot.

Samye and family- Dustin im going to try and write back today but im also packing. I pray for yall every night. Tell the kids i love them!

Nicki- I already wrote you this morning and ill send it off soon.

Alex- I also already wrote you and will send it today.

p.s. Dont mail letters here anymore. Im GONE!!! :) oh and im mailing a package home.

2nd to last week in the MTC!

Well i should get my travel plans today. We are all very excited! I most likely will be leaving a week from Monday with 4 other guys in my district to fly down. This week flew by like every other week. Sunday was a very cool day. For our fireside we watched videos on 9/11 and then watched the Mormon tabernacle presentation and it was very touching. It is amazing to think it has been 10 years but also to think how much it has done for our country. The main thing i took away from this was rise above. America rose above after the attack and became united in relief and helping out. I feel as if I have risen above certain times in my life. The problem i see with America sometimes is we don't keep that attitude. Individually i lose that attitude of rising above very often. It hit me that i cant rise above for certain occasions then go back down to where i was. I need to be constantly making steps forward although i know we all fall. I fallen many times most of all but it is all about if we can come out of it and what we learn from it.

Also this week on Tuesday we had the opportunity to hear from M. Russell Ballard. Its pretty rare i get to hear from a couple of apostles while being in the MTC but it is definitely a cool experience. First Sister Ballard started out by saying, "people don't understand how we do what we do sometimes, but they also don't know what we know." This made me think alot about Tannon. Many people included I did not know certain things that could have made everything much easier. It is a whole lot easier to lose your brother if you know he is working along side you and will be there after this life. I have truly come to believe that and see that help while i have been here. Then Elder Ballard spoke about a quote by Wilford Woodruf and stated, " No matter what comes upon you, round up your shoulders and bear it." Also, " Get over rejection, doubt, sadness, or any other negative feeling by having a picture of the savior on you at all times so that you can pull it out and sit and think for a minute. He went through the exact thing plus much much more. there is nothing that will be placed on our shoulders that we cant take with the help of the savior.

Its been a rough but good week. I'm still trying to learn as much as i can. the food is getting very very old but i have stuck to my diet most the time and am staying as healthy as possible :). This week I got a letter from a friend of mine that i haven't talked to in a while. It was one of the most exciting parts of the week and it helped alot to hear someone say something to the fact of if i work my butt off and be who i can be than there is nothing i cant do. I also to just hear from a dear friend was very nice.

Curtis, i know your reading this and i want you to know i love you man. Also please tell your parents. It means a lot to get things from your parents. Sorry i haven't written your mom back yet but i will try today!! I glad your home and now you can take care of business there. Your like a brother to me, even though your old now.

Please send grandma and Grandpa and Jean and Russell my love. I pray for them every night and am so thankful to have amazing grandparents in my life.

Family, give Brandon and Jaimie and the kids a hug for me.

I love you all!

Dad- Sounds like everything is going well. I didn't get a chance to read any of your letters yet seeing as they moved the post office and haven't printed out dear elders yet.

Mom- Its second Nephi 2. I sent you the verses in a far previous email i know. I don't have my scriptures on me and don't have time to go get them seeing as this is timed but its toward the end. if you cant find those then use DC 62:2-4 or so. Just be a good judge and use whatever. Um as far as pictures.. i haven't taken too many but ill work on that.

Samye and Family- I hope everything is well. I'm still waiting to get my drawings from the kids... but I'm excited :)

Nicki- i never heard back from you on that separate email i sent you. Just hoping you were able to take care of that for me. I also hope school is going well and boys as well. Even though i sucked at writing you, you should be the better person ! :). also all those papers you sent me. Wow its alot! and majority of the stories are missing half of them but i do appreciate it :) I have read alot of it every night before i pass out.

Alex- Ill be writing you today. I hope school is well and the boys are horrible. (nice to you but not good enough)

P.S. i learned something this week about mailing to me in Argentina. I couple people have told us you sometimes have to be sneaky if you send anything. @ tips i heard.

1-peanut butter jar and take most of the peanut butter out and put whatever inside of it.

2- Wrap whatever it is in paper of Mary. the people will be to suspicious and wont open it :). (hopefully)

Also if anything is sent to me that wont be here by the 26 then they will most likely trash it unless i can get someone to forward it to me in Argentina.

Only 3 weeks left!

Dear family and friends,

It was a pretty good week this week. Lots of our good friends have headed out to the field but I've only got 3 weeks left then i leave. This next week i should get my travel plans and hopefully its not like those going to Hong Kong where they leave Monday morning and after layovers and so forth get there Wednesday night. Yes we definitely heard about the BYU Miss game. A guy in my district is in love with sports and byu. He is seen on the byu sports annual catalog giving jimmer a blessing... And this week i am excited to hopefully see Texas beat Byu. Elder Embley, same guy i just mentioned, is also going to the San Antonio mission so he cant decide who he wants to win.

Yesterday, another elder in my district had an interesting experience. Since our third week he has been one of the only elders left here going to the Dominican republic because of the lack of space in the Dominican MTC. Yesterday morning they paged him and said he was leaving at 830 that night. He spent all day getting packed and getting ready, then a couple hours they called him back and said never mind. He was a little frustrated but he is still happy to be here.

Umm, not much else has gone on here. I'm still studying all the time and trying to get the language down but it wont happen for a while i know. I did go to the temple today and ended up talking to an elderly guy who served in my mission back when Argentina was all one mission.

A couple thoughts from the week:

In a Fireside by Richard Heaton, i realized that as missionaries sometimes we focus too hard on the wrong things. My purpose is not to baptize people but to strengthen there faith in Christ and possibly (hopefully) bring them into the gospel. Sometimes we miss the spirit, the promptings, and the feelings of those we are teaching. God has been working on these people i will meet. I need to make sure what i teach coincides with what they have been feeling and with what will help them.

On Tuesday, we had Jay E. Jensen come speak to us sort of on, "Decisions Do Determine Destiny." I have realized that in my life, but i have always learned that decisions are made everyday. Decisions to change can correct past decisions through time. When he spoke to us he said that he didn't plan to go on a mission at first. He was going to marry his girlfriend, now wife, and not serve. It wasn't til a return missionary spoke in church that it hit him that he needed to go no matter what. Now quickly, what is the first scripture that comes to mind about success? In i think D&C 18:15-16, it talks about if you bring save it be one soul, how great shall be your joy. Who is the "one soul"? As I've learned here, that soul could be me. This mission i am going on could not change another persons life but my own. And if that be the case, then how great will be my joy? It could be a companion. It could be the people in Argentina. My point is, I need to be an impact whether it be on myself or others. Also, on a side note, it wont necessarily be what i say that effects people but what they feel because of what i am telling them.

I am still excited to be here and time begins to fly. Ive learned so much and already feel completely different. I am so happy to be able to have this opportunity to go share this amazing happiness. I haven't known this all along, but this gospel can bring so much happiness into your life. Christ can bring so much happiness, help, comfort, peace, guidance, and etc. I plan to do my best as a missionary and get out there. Be bold with everything i say and teach knowing that angels, God, Jesus Christ, and my older brother are right beside me helping me the entire time.

Last little note. I didn't go to choir this week because i wanted a chance to actually hear the choir instead of myself. But trust me, i will be singing alot down in Argentina. I ever heard that even if i have a bad voice here, ill sound great over there. Either way ill try my best.

Dad- Thank you for the letters! I think the 11-13 they wont print out dear elders because they are moving buildings. Sounds like everything is good and your busy with the missionaries as well.

Mom- Thank you for the letter even though 90% of it was a talk. :). Sounds like everything is also going well for you. I had something i was gonna ask but i forgot...Oh, and i told you like 4 weeks ago what the scripture is i wanted! Its in 2 nephi. I don't remember where though.

Samye and D- Have fun on your little get away trip and Happy Late birthday Samye!

Nicki- Thank you for the package! umm and all the papers. I don't know if ill ever get a chance to read them but thank you! I hope school is going well! And remember, if something very significant in your life happens in the next 2 years, i better like him.

Alex- I hope you got my letter and everything is going well! good luck in school along with everything else you plan to do. Just remember that you have the light of Christ and the best thing you can do it is by sharing it. You know how?! SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the time! It is actually proven that it is impossible to stay mad if you force yourself to smile. So DO IT!!!

I love you all and you are in my prayers every night.

Oh, and tell Jean and Russell I am writing them today. And Thank you!